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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. pit — a hole
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. pit — in a race
  6. press — a publisher
  7. hand — help
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. press — newspapers
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. press — to push
  15. perch — the fish
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. capital — money
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. trunk — of a car

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com